BCCI Planning Mini Indian Premier League In UAE

Buoyed by the huge success of Indian Premier League, Rajeev Shukla, chairman of the Indian Premier League, has said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is interested in launching a mini-IPL and the most favoured venue to host the league is UAE.

While there is absolutely no denying that the IPL is the world’s biggest T20 league,its stature has elevated by leaps and bounds after VIVO retained the tournament’s title sponsorship for the next five years with a whopping Rs 2,199 crore bid, a mammoth 554 per cent more than the previous contract.

“One concept that we are deliberating and considering is launching a mini edition of the IPL overseas. We have seen that there is huge attraction for IPL overseas. Earlier, we used to stage our Champions League T20 abroad and that slot is still vacant. We are thinking of a mini edition in that slot,” Shukla told Gulf News.

If the plan goes ahead then this will not be the first time of IPL in UAE. The country had held the first leg of the 2014 IPL due to general elections in India and Shukla is confident that Dubai can host the mini-IPL. Moreover, the success of Pakistan Super League in Dubai will also give confidence to the IPL organisers.

The first ten years of IPL have been nothing short of fascinating and Shukla said that it is only going to get more interesting.

“The next 10 years are going to be interesting. We are changing the revenue sharing model. Earlier franchises took the license fee but now they will be sharing the revenue with the BCCI. Another important thing is about tenders for the broadcasters. In fact, broadcasters’ tenders will be out in July and we are expecting manifold rise in it,” he said.

He also said that the number of teams as of now will remain eight but the governing council will think over increasing it.

“So far we have decided for eight teams only, otherwise the season will get extended and that will be a problem. If we go for 10 teams, we will have to stage minimum 84 matches. However, the governing council will be considering it but so far the tender will be only for eight teams,” he said.